2017/02/22

After we published a program about a new dictionary by the Abbot of Mor Augin monastery in Turabdin, Yoqen Unval Beth Yakub, our editor Augin Kurt Haninke received new documents that shed light on the anti-Assyrian acts of mentioned monk already in the year 2000 before he was ordained monk. Therefore Augin wrote an article exposing that the falsifications of the terms affiliated with Assyrian identity in the new dictionary, in fact are done deliberately by this anti-Assyrian monk. In this program Augin explains the necessity of exposing such a history revisionism.

The name ”Syria” was formerly believed to be either an abbreviation of ”Assyria” or derived from Tsur (Tyre), hence Tsurya, and that it was of Greek origin. This, however, is untenable, as the name, in all probability, is derived from the old Babylonian name Suri, applied originally to the north-eastern portion of the present Syria. Later on the name Syria was applied by the Greeks and the Romans to the whole of Syria, or the country lying between the Euphrates, the Mediterranean, the Taurus, and Egypt.

It’s a crime for the Syriac Orthodox Church to continue occupying Mar Awgen Monastery. It has historically always belonged to the Church of the East and it should be returned to it. It’s a shame that the Syriac Orthodox Church is today trying to change the history of that Monastery and hide the fact that they stole it from the Church of the East – what is even more insulting is this ”monk” whose hate for his own Assyrian ancestors is both unsettling and nonsensical. Not only that, but he also has contempt for the Eastern dialect of Syriac/Assyrian – which is the dialect that resounded and echoed off the walls of his monastery for over 15 centuries. Shame on him.

One correction to his ”dictionary” – Athor/Othur is not an Akkadian word. It is an Achaemenid Persian pronunciation of the Akkadian word Asshur/Assur, which did not refer to Mosul but to the partonymic supreme deity of the ancient Assyrians, their first capital city (which is many km south of Mosul) and the entire land ruled by the ancient Assyrians (Mat-Asshur). It was through the Achaemenids’ usage of Imperial Aramaic as a lingua franca (as the Assyrians did before them) that Athor/Othur entered the Syriac language as a replacement for Asshur/Assur, which ceased to be used among the Aramaic-speaking Assyrian populace.

If a detail so simple is incorrect in this monk’s dictionary, that means that he is NOT a scholar and definitely not an authority on our language (let along Semitic linguistics). Not only should he be ashamed of himself, but the entire Syriac Orthodox Church should be ashamed for allowing such a person to lie to people as a ”man of God”. At least 30% of the Syriac Orthodox Church’s Middle Eastern members identify as Assyrians – just like there are others that identify as Arameans, Syrians, Arabs or ”Syriacs”. If he can’t learn to love all of his ”spiritual children” then he doesn’t belong where he is.